Tourist Towns

Kosi Bay Fish Traps

About

It's one thing looking at the pictures, but you must have wondered whats it's actually like. And in many ways, the idea of spearing fish appeals to us at so many levels.

Here is your chance to find out what it is like.

On this outing, one of the traditional fish trap owners will take you to his trap and explain how it works. He will show you how they are made and after explaining how he spears the fish, you will be given a chance to spear one yourself. But be warned. It is not as easy as it seems. There is a nice twist to the tale: you get to keep keep what you catch for your dinner. The excursion lasts up to 2 hours.

Map

Elephant Coast

Highlights

About

On the eastern seaboard of South Africa, the wild country of the Elephant Coast presses up against the Indian Ocean in the east, Mozambique in the north and Zululand to the south and west. Here, the bright lights of the city are nowhere to be seen, replaced by night skies as unpolluted as nature created them.

The area was named for the elephants that once roamed here in great numbers, hunted for their tusks until they had all but disappeared. Luckily this has been turned around and elephants can once again be seen in many of the region’s game reserves, along with the rest of the Big 5.

Made up of extensive commercial farms, private game farms and government game reserves, the Elephant Coast is still relatively untouched by modernity. It incorporates vast expanses of wilderness, including an internationally renowned World Heritage Site, the 328000ha Isimangaliso Wetland Park. It is also home to Africa’s oldest game reserve, the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, founded in 1895.

The area is a must-visit for ecologically minded tourists; there is far more to see than just the two flagship reserves. Fortunate tourists can see the Big 5, scuba dive with whale sharks or manta rays, watch turtles laying their eggs, fish for tigerfish, and ride horses on the beach or through the bush. It’s a region that is rich in diversity.

Ndumo Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Reserve are both on the border with Mozambique and offer unique experiences for twitchers and pachyderm fans.

Tembe now boasts herds of elephants that are noted for their impressive tusks, and it’s one of the better places in South Africa to get good sightings and photographs of these animals.

Ndumo is best known for its birding. Species such as the narina trogon, palm-nut vulture and green twinspot can be seen in the forests of figs and other beautiful trees. Healthy populations of hippo and crocodile lurk in the pans and rivers.

KosiBay, a reserve protecting a series of shallow coastal lakes and all that lives in and around them, offers excellent fishing. There are also fascinating cultural and wildlife walks and birding opportunities. In season, one can watch turtles as they lay eggs or hatch from them.

Also on the coast is Sodwana Bay, yet another conservation area run by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. It’s a mecca for scuba divers and snorkelers from all over the world.

Sodwana holds beneath its waters coral reefs that are home to an estimated 1 200 fish species. These include the prehistoric coelacanth, as well as sharks and other fish.

Lake Sibaya is another attraction, although one that has failed to attain the popularity it deserves. The largest fresh-water lake in South Africa, Sibaya is home to thousands of waterbirds. Game is plentiful along its shores and crocodiles stalk its clear water.

The Jozini, or Pongolapoort, Dam offers a wonderful blend of sport fishing with game viewing. The river itself is also home to healthy populations of tigerfish.

Look out for

Isimangaliso Wetland Park – this World Heritage Site is amazingly diverse and deserves at least a few days of your time. Go for a boat cruise on the estuary, a game drive through the bush, and a hike along the shores of Lake St Lucia.

Sodwana Bay – take advantage of one of the world’s top scuba diving spots. Beginners can go on courses or snorkel; while more experienced divers have a number of reefs to choose from.

Birdwatching – the entire Elephant Coast is home to bountiful birdlife, although there are a few hot spots. The pans of Mkhuze Game Reserve play host to pelicans and all sorts of other birdlife. Over 420 bird species have been recorded in the riverine forest, woodland and savannahs of the park. Ndumo Game Reserve has an even better record, with more than 430 species recorded, the most for anywhere in South Africa. Beautiful, fever tree-lined pans are home to specials such as Pel’s fishing owl, broadbill and black egret.

Fishing – the Elephant Coast’s Jozini Dam is one of the few places in South Africa where anglers can try their luck at landing the tigerfish, one of the most ferocious, toothy fish in the world. If salt-water fishing is preferred, Kosi Bay is a popular and exceptional fishery, while deep-sea charters also operate from St Lucia.

Turtle tours – St Lucia is probably the best place in the country to go on an organised turtle watching tour. While sightings can’t be guaranteed, you have a good chance of seeing leatherback and loggerhead turtles laying eggs or hatching. Community guides at Kosi Bay also offer turtle watching tours that are very worthwhile.

Game view – the Elephant Coast is still home to a healthy population of big tuskers, especially in Tembe Elephant Park. A good sighting of these animals will stay with you for the rest of your life. The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve is internationally famous for saving the white rhino from extinction, and it remains one of the best places in the world to view this docile behemoth. The rest of the Big 5 can also be seen here, along with many other interesting animals.

Hike – while some areas require a guide (especially the Big 5 parks), there are some exceptional walking trails on the Elephant Coast. Almost all game reserves will offer day trails, while a trail with a difference can be enjoyed at Kosi bay. Here you can wander around the Kosi Mouth estuary, inspecting the primitive fish traps and watching locals at work spearing their catch.

When to go

To Do

Gallery

Events

Articles & Blogs

24 Hours in Hluhluwe

The feast of the uninvited begins as our table is set for lunch at Maphumulo picnic site. Enter a handsome nyala bull, unfazed by human presence. Shortly afterwards the big boy is joined by an equally casual ewe. The pair browse awhile, then saunter along. I’m so excited I can hardly swallow my tuna salad.

Our late-morning entry through Memorial Gate has already produced top class action: a rhino sighting just alongside the road, their trust in humanity tragic. Then we find ourselves gridlocked in a zebra traffic jam. Are these animals laid-back or what?...

Living with Wildlife in iSimangaliso

St Lucia Estuary has always been a rather unique sort of town, totally surrounded by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site.

Fringed by lush coastal forests and the Park’s marine protected area of the Indian Ocean shoreline in the east, the Eastern Shores section to the north and the Lake St Lucia estuarine system to the south and west, this thriving tourist destination has been made world-famous by the proximity to wildlife that wanders freely through the streets and fringes of town.

A Walk in the Wild

On the Wilderness Trail, you literally walk away from all technology and home comforts into the heart of the bush, surrounded by dangerous and small game, with nothing but what you can fit into your backpack, plus two armed guides—and an open mind. The result: one-on-one interactions with hyenas at 3 a.m.

I’ve never been good at making fires, and I wasn’t sure what was making me more nervous: the fact that I had to keep the campfire burning, or the fact I had to keep watch over my sleeping trail companions from dangerous game, on my own, for an hour—...

iSimangaliso Salutes Zaloumis

After some 20 years of outstanding leadership and a career dedicated to people-centred conservation, Andrew Zaloumis has stepped down as CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. He will pursue his studies in sustainability at Cambridge University UK and continue to contribute to Southern African conservation and development.

Zaloumis was actively involved in the conservation side of iSimangaliso’s activities together with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. These included the historic reintroduction of lion into the Park after an absence of 44 years. Due to an increase in the threat of rhino...

Sodwana Bay Shootout

The iSimangaliso Sodwana Bay Shootout photography event, within the marine heart of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site, is takes place in May.

After an invitational event in 2016 with key underwater photographers, journalists, dive operators, and iSimangaliso’s marketing team, the think-tank to re-launch this popular annual Eco-Series event has come up with fresh and dynamic ideas for a world class event with inputs from some of the country’s leading underwater heavyweights.

As part of their trip, the invited media group was privileged to join the release of two...

Restoring Lake St Lucia Estuary

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park has signed two contracts of R23.41 million each with T&T Marine (Pty) Ltd and Scribante Africa Mining (Pty) Ltd. Both contracts will run until the end of June 2017 and are for the loading, hauling, tipping and disposal of sand from the dredge spoil island in the mouth area of the Lake St Lucia Estuary. This brings the total value of iSimangaliso’s restoration project to R61.82 million.

Big Tuskers of Tembe Elephant Park

On April 13, 2016, James Currie and his team of wildlife experts launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete the elephant documentary, Last of the Big Tuskers. The film covers the life and death of Isilo, one of the largest elephants in the world, and explores the future of the remaining big tusker elephants in Africa. Big tusker elephants are those elephants with tusks weighing more than one hundred pounds a side. Only forty of these majestic animals remain on earth today.

Lake St Lucia’s Lifeline Cut Off

The fresh water currently flowing into iSimangaliso’s Lake St Lucia Estuary from the uMfolozi River as a result of recent rain is a godsend.

With 90% of the Lake St Lucia’s surface water dried up, 315km2 of the 350km2 lake bed lies exposed and barren, ravaged by the drought. What little water is left is five times saltier than the sea in places. The highest tolerance level for estuarine species is between two and three times saltier than the sea.

”Between 12 and 14 March 2016, some 6.2 billion litres of fresh water entered the Lake St Lucia system,...

Turtle Tours

If you’re anywhere near iSimangeliso or Kosi in KZN include a turtle tour into your itinerary. Between November and March Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles waddle onto the beach at night to lay their eggs, returning each year to the exact same spot. The accredited guides are eco-sensitive and allow you to take photos at the right time, this was a snap of a Loggerhead turtle that I was lucky enough to capture during my turtle tour. This is for all those non-divers out there - this is your chance to see these magnificent creatures up close!

Umfolozi Lions

Whoever said that trees were the domain of leopards was clearly mistaken! This family of four lionesses and three cubs was spotted casually resting in a tree in the Umfolozi Game reserve in KZN. Undisturbed by the cars’ ignitions and camera flashes the family continued to snore away, occasionally rebalancing themselves on the branches after a slight wobble. Umfolozi Game Reserve is the oldest proclaimed park in Africa and is home to a healthy population of lions. It’s a definitely a lot easier to spot a lion in a tree than inthe dense bush that has been...

On the topic of safaris

Fancy a game-viewing holiday in 2013? Well we’ve got good news for you.

WILDERNESS SAFARIS LAUNCHES LOYALTY PROGRAMME FOR AFRICAN RESIDENTS

On the eve of their 30th birthday Wilderness Safaris, one of Africa’s long established safari companies, have introduced a loyalty programme - the Wilderness Safaris Residents Programme for - African residents/citizens. The programme is tailor-made to accommodate residents of southern Africa and other African countries with Dream Deals allowing members to take advantage of exclusive rates and last-minute booking discounts...

Crested Guineafowl

Did you know that Crested Guineafowl are monogamous, with long-lasting pair bonds? Males are often seen running meters and meters with food in their mouths to feed females during courtship. Gives a nice story to this photo from the Nightjar Gallery [taken at Cape Vidal] - although, with my luck, these two are probably totally just friends :-)

HUMPBACK WHALE WATCHING OFF ST LUCIA

A surf launch off the St Lucia coastline is an experience in its own right. When this launch is the beginning of a two-hour whale watching journey, it comes with the anticipation of an adventure. It starts with an early morning call and a short drive over 400m of beach in a 4x4 vehicle.

The coastline runs from north-east to south-west, so the rising sun emerges from the ocean horizon. The early morning temperatures are...